Police shot suspect in self-defense near Groninger Museum

The Public Prosecutor has concluded that the two officers who shot a man near the Groninger museum on January 25th, acted in legitimate self-defense, the prosecutor announced on Thursday. On Sunday, January 25th, two police officers responded to a report of a man waving two knives on the street. The officers found him and instructed him to drop the knives. The man ignored them and ran away in the direction of Central Station. One officer fired a warning shot. The man still didn't respond and stabbed towards the face of a passing cyclist. The officers then fired shots at the man's legs. The man still did not stop running and jumped into the water at the Groninger Museum. He died in the water. An autopsy on the 23 year old man's body showed that he died of substantial blood loss caused by two cuts in his neck. It also shows that one of the police officer's bullets hit him in the left leg. The bullet hit no major blood vessels and did not ply a role in the man's death. Based on this autopsy and after examining all the facts, the Public Prosecutor concluded that the officers acted in self-defense. For self-defense to be applicable their has to be a threat of imminent danger to their own person or that of another. In this case there was a definite threat of imminent danger - the officers shot the man after he tried to attack the cyclist with a knife. They shot in order to stop actually stabbing someone. They also aimed at his legs. The shooting was therefore justified.